Six women have come forward with accusations against Plaza employees. (Reuters)
The iconic Plaza Hotel is a hotbed of sexual harassment, according to six former and current staffers who’ve filed suit against the historic institution.
The women claim they’ve been forced to endure a fusillade of unwarranted kissing, groping, and repugnant remarks from their superiors and coworkers — as the hotel’s management turned a blind eye and even shamed the women when they reported the sickening incidents.
The women, four of whom continue to work as bartenders, servers and in hospitality, claim the dirty dealings included illicit touching and creepy comments — and that the encounters often ended with the men crying.
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Current employee Dana Lewis alleges the hotel’s general manager, Christian Floren, repeatedly followed her into a coat closet, grabbed her and started kissing her three separate times in a single day. After she rebuffed each advance, the married Floren purportedly started crying and said “I don’t understand why you don’t want me,” according to court papers.
“It’s hell,” Lewis, 32, told The Post. “It’s a never-ending nightmare. You wake up in the morning, but you’re never actually awake. It’s a horror story.”
“While patrons enjoy the iconic culture of The Plaza, many of its female employees are forced to endure a culture of a different type – rape culture,” says the suit, which is asking for unspecified damages.
The 50-page complaint details a series of nauseating encounters, including various male staffers phallicizing anything that could resemble male genitals — such as cucumbers, bananas and pens — and cornering the women with lewd, unwanted comments.
Food runner Ivo Stipanovic once brought in a large cucumber and “white sauce” to work, the papers claim, repeatedly telling plaintiff Kristina Antonova she should dip the cucumber in the unspecified substance, claiming it “has lots of protein.”
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In another upsetting incident, server and union delegate Syed Islam allegedly told current staffer Crystal Washington “I can tell you had sex last night.”
Islam also allegedly said he wanted to “taste” another one of the women, Veronica Owusu. Reached by phone, Islam denied the allegations.
Owusu was subjected to harassment from other employees as well, including a drunken server, Carlos Pena, who abruptly told her he wanted to “eat your p----” before hugging her in an elevator, the filing says.
Yet another manager, Raul Abrantes, is accused of telling former staffer Paige Rodriguez, “I want to take you to the back and f--- the s--- out of you.”
Abrantes also allegedly stood around bragging about other sexual conquests, telling uninterested colleagues “My d--- hurts, I had sex with three girls I met at the bar last night.”
Despite the endless barrage of comments and unwanted advances, hotel management did nothing to stop it, the papers claim.
After she complained, Washington was placed on leave, and others were told to dress more conservatively to avoid the male attention.
Lewis says she was told by a female manager, Anna Fernandez, that “‘with everything going on with Syed,' she should button her shirt all the way up,” the suit says.
“Its been stressful and overwhelming,” Washington said Tuesday of her three years as Plaza employee. “After reporting it to HR and management, nothing has happened. At this point I feel powerless. Sometimes I feel like giving up. I feel like there’s nothing I can do.”
The suit also cites another unnamed male employee, who allegedly said “if you know you’re dressing like that with guys around, you can’t expect a man not to react. I’m a human being, what am I supposed to do?”
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“They were dismissive of some very serious facts and allegations,” said defense attorney Andrew S. Goodstadt. “They were blaming our clients in a lot of ways, asking them to button their shirts.”
“This is 2017,” the lawyer added. “If this can happen at The Plaza it could happen anywhere.”
“At Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the safety and welfare of our guests and staff is always our highest priority. Any attempt at harassment or discrimination toward our colleagues and guests has not and never will be tolerated,” said a spokeswoman for the company that owns the Plaza. “We take all claims of harassment or discrimination seriously, take appropriate remedial action where warranted, and do not retaliate against any staff member who raises a claim of harassment or discrimination in good faith.”
Floren, Stipanovic, Pena and Abrantes could not be reached.
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